AC Milan coach Pioli delighted with thumping win against Torino

AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli was delighted after their 4-1 rout of Torino.

Perr Schuurs canceled out AC Milan attacker Christian Pulisic's opener, but two Olivier Giroud penalties and Theo Hernandez's goal saw the hosts cruise to victory.

Pioli said, "We are happy with the performance, as we showed steps forward from the opening game. We must continue getting to know each other and become more of a team unit, but this is already a good start.

“We brought in players with the characteristics we were looking for, a very attack-minded and proactive approach. This has always been our way of playing, sometimes it worked better than others, but we never sat back to go on the counter-attack. The pressing of the forwards helped us out defensively too today.

“Oli is a great player, but if we want to be competitive over two tournaments, no player can guarantee 100 per cent for the full season. The more options we have, the better. We are complete as things stand, then if something happens the club will decide what to do."

He also said, "It is a possibility when everyone is in good shape, but I don't think the system makes us more or less attacking. It's the characteristics of the players, because now we have midfielders who are more attack-minded and push up, so there are effectively five players attacking.

“We also have alternatives, as Pulisic can play behind Giroud, for example. Let us at the moment try to gain some consistency and do these things regularly, but it is always an advantage for the coach to have different options.

“This is a great group of players to work with. They are prepared to sacrifice themselves fully for the team and that is the foundation we can build on."